From the CRMA:"On April 27th 9 am to 3 pm the entire Florida Keys, Homestead and the mainland is invited to join the gorgeous assault on Long Key State Park as we traverse the Atlantic Ocean shoreline via kayak, canoe, floaty chair, snorkel, or even just wade out. The park has established a private beach hold for the CRMA where we can operate from.Bring your kayaks, or rentals will be available as usual via our site (see below), your skiffs, pontoon boats, snorkel gear, and reusable water cup, gloves and water shoes. Kiki's Sand Bar and Grille will provide lunch for everyone on site and Winn-Dixie will provide cooling refreshments, fresh fruit and ice support. Free reef safe sunscreen and free boat launch access available for all, and easy delivered kayak service to the beach. We need help on land as well registering the volunteers of CRMA, helping in water distribution, lunch service, trash sorting, and treasures cleaned and hopefully returned to owners. Family friendly, community driven, and eco sound as we reclaim our Conch Republic.

Participants will receive a future pass to any Florida State Park for 8 and access is of course free on the day as is everything else. Free raffles for participants.

A chance to join your local representatives, the CRMA, small businesses, and agencies who care about fixing the problem caused by Irma and so so much more. We are taking the Florida Keys marine habitats back one mile at a time and we are doing it on an industrial level with support from Monroe County Public Works as the heavy lifters. Over 125 tons of garbage has been pulled by more than 2,400 volunteers in 2018 and the job is just getting started. Thousands and thousands of pounds litter this shoreline in just 12" of water and its easy to get and we'll help make it easier and have a bit of fun doing it.

This is one epic battle. We are the CRMA and we're not stopping. In fact we're just putting it into gear.

Volunteer in support of our non-profit partner:

Volun-Tour Details

Depart the island of Key West in our comfortable, air-conditioned 15-passenger van & enjoy a narrated tour of the Lower Florida Keys. Launch your kayak and prepare to get dirty! Your guide will lead you to today's clean-up location and will work alongside you to help restore and preserve the beauty of the Florida Keys. Take a break and chow down on a delicious picnic lunch to fuel up for more work. Before departing your newly cleaned area, your guide will present fresh mangrove seedlings for you to plant, thereby restoring our islands to their former glory. It's so satisfying that you'll want to volunteer with us every time you visit Key West & the Florida Keys!

History of our Volun-Tours

From the owner, Kim Stamps:"It began September 10, 2017, when Hurricane Irma devastated the Florida Keys. My favorite island to share with Keys visitors, Big Pine Key, was the hardest-hit island and was unrecognizable. I couldn't find Key Deer, there was no wildlife at the Blue Hole, trees were lying on top of roofs and across roads, vegetation was brown and dead-looking, debris from destroyed homes was strewn all over the island, the stench of decaying seagrass was unbearable. Our tour stops on the neighboring islands were damaged as well: Dolphin Research Center was closed until December, Bahia Honda State Park was closed until November (much of the park is still closed as of January 2019), Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters was closed until December, Theater of the Sea was closed until December. Tourists were asked not to come to Key West until the end of October.My dream, Up The Keys Tours, was essentially closed for business.BUT I quickly realized that the quicker we can get the Keys cleaned up, the quicker we can get back to business. I gratefully accepted gas money from former customers, family members, friends, and even friends of friends. I connected with Keys Vineyard Community Church on Big Pine Key to help residents clean up their yards. At my direction, Up The Keys did not charge Key West locals to come with us to help. We still don't. Our first visitors to come help us was a family from Pennsylvania who filled up our gas tank. By this time, we were out of gas and out of money. I'll never forget the generosity of this beautiful family and each of the persons who not only kept our wheels rolling, but also worked tirelessly alongside me, us, to help our neighbors and our environment recover. We continue to offer volunteer excursions because our sensitive marine habitats are still recovering and need your help. The mangroves and our near-shore waters are still full of debris and marine trash and they have been choked out by saltwater intrusion and seagrass.Please join us and in doing so, you're also joining the Conch Republic Marine Army. Every little bit helps."